(All the “cutting veg” puns are taken.)

Last Thursday I volunteered at The Cutting Veg, an organic farm in Brampton, Ontario. I’m on their mailing list and for weeks have been wanting to volunteer but without a car I didn’t think it was possible. Another volunteer offered and to the farm I went. 7am pick up.

What images go through your mind when you think about farmers? Farm houses with rows of corn and livestock in the “backyard”? Silos? Country folk? Personally “Jewish farmer” always seemed like an oxymoron to me although I don’t know why (laugh at me if you wish, we all have preconceived notions).

Daniel Hoffman of The Cutting Veg lives in mid town Toronto (a few blocks from me) with his wife, who I met a couple of weeks earlier in a separate context and without her husband (the Jewish world is small). Every morning at 6am he drives to his farm, a large plot on McVean Incubator Farm, leased by FarmStart. At McVean Farm/FarmStart, new farmers receive access to the land, infrastructure, and equipment they need to raise crops and to process and market their products. By granting access to land and equipment at reasonable rates, FarmStart’s farm facilities allow new farmers to postpone major investments in land and equipment until their businesses start generating profit. The incubator model also helps participants to build the skills and knowledge that they need in order to make sound investments.

Other farmers who occupy land on McVean land include Matchbox Garden and Seed Co. and a beekeeper (you can see the hives in the middle photo of the bottom row).

There is no farm house. No toilet facilities either, except for an outhouse (nauseated by the smell the first time I used it, I chose to er, relieve myself hidden among the corn rows – harvest complete – the second time because when you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go).

Immediately beyond the farm and across the street are housing developments. Imagine living in your cookie cutter home with bee hives and rows of crops behind you. It’s picturesque. If it weren’t for the cookie cutter housing development – and the fact that I couldn’t live in the ‘burbs – I’d think that it was downright idyllic.  Row upon row of crops planted in phases. Crops such as cucumbers, kale, potatoes and carrots grow in multiple rows, planted at various times to mature and harvest at different times.

The biggest crop for The Cutting Veg is garlic. Their “Global Garlic Project” includes 10 different international varieties of garlic and they have over 10,000 garlic plants. They currently have 6 varieties of Organic Garlic available for order: Italian, Korean, Persian, Sicilian, Ukrainian, and Yugoslavian. I’ve bought a couple of these at the farmer’s market. As I learned from Daniel months ago, garlic can last for months stored in a paper bag (I keep mine in a cupboard and have started storing my onions in a cloth bag in a dark cupboard). Check out the the Cutting Veg’s garlic varieties and their characteristics here.

On the day I visited, we were picking vegetables for the Tikkun Adamah CSA, a joint project of the Cutting Veg Organic Farm and the Kavanah Organic Community Teaching Garden in Richmond Hill, Ontario.

Upon arrival I was assigned to cucumbers, which are surprisingly spiky. The spikes rub right off with light finger pressure. I guess that when you buy cucs at the store they’ve been rubbed of spikes.

Next was tomatoes – four varieties – and then two kinds of beans (see photo four rows down on the left). I sampled a couple of each as I picked just to taste. Along the way I asked many questions and hoped that I remember the answers. I learned that the orange flowers that I see packed in my salad greens serve the purpose of repelling insects and that the pie plates hanging from strings at the end of crop rows are to repel dear.

On a farm tour after completion of our pick I learned that buckwheat (left photo, second from bottom) is a natural fertilizer. We were allowed to sample purple kale, basil and other crops that weren’t being picked that day. Volunteers were then offered produce to take home: Anything too “ugly” to go to the CSA. Tomatoes, carrots, squash, garlic. Daniel also allowed us to go through the corn stalks and pick anything that was left over. I picked an ear of corn, stripped it, and ate it right on the spot.

Corn picking season is over. Garlic scapes are long gone. Pumpkins are coming up.

I learned a few things about organic farming. It felt great to be down in the dirt working. When my thighs got sore from squatting in the fields I sat cross legged as I plucked beans, shuffling to the side as I went. I also learned that while I was prepared with pants, sunhat, sunglasses, sunscreen and camera the next time I need to pack more water (a couple of brief dizzy spells in the heat reminded me to drink) and a canvas bag for my haul.

Want to sample some of The Cutting Veg yourself?

On Saturdays you can find their booth (minus Daniel) at Wychwood Barns farmer’s market. On Mondays he’s at the Sorauren farmer’s market.

Interested in volunteering? The Cutting Veg is always looking for volunteers. If you can spare just a few hours at least once a week during the day contact Daniel (647) 388-7444 or daniel@thecuttingveg.com.

The Cutting Veg has a blog.

What others are blogging about The Cutting Veg:

• BlogTO: On The Cutting Veg of Urban Farming (I’d have used a headline like theirs if they hadn’t).
• Breastfeeding Moms Unite: Foodie Fridays: Not Your Mama’s Green Beans

(I did take more. When I first started on the cucumbers I didn’t want to take my big camera out so I used my phone’s camera. None of those photos have been moved to my computer.)